Easy lentil soup, a family recipe

I remember getting all excited as a kid when my mom made this soup. Just the whiff of those lentils cooking was enough to make my mouth water. Mom always used brown lentils, and as a rambunctious three year old I remember calling it “chocolate soup”. My mother would do anything to get me to eat healthy. Growing up chocolate soup became a synonym for lentil soup, and one of the many family stories and jokes. It’s amazing how those little memories of childhood can put a smile on our faces. I’m smiling and remembering all those happy moments as I’m writing this.

Later on in life I learned how nutritious lentils were, so this simple recipe passed down from my mother and her mother, became part of my family’s diet.

The lentil is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, known for its lens-shaped edible seeds. Lentils come in many colors, from yellow and red-orange, to green, brown and black, each one with a slightly different flavor.

With about 30% of their calories from vegetable protein, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut, after soybeans and hemp. They are high in dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1 and minerals, and are a good source of iron (Source).

Even though lentils are highly nutritious, they, like many other vegetables, contain anti-nutritional factors. Lentils contain trypsin inhibitors and are relatively high in phytate. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in digestion, and phytates reduce the bio-availability of dietary minerals. By soaking lentils overnight the phytates can be reduced.

Let’s get to the recipe!

Easy lentil soup, a family recipe

Recipe by Manuela ValentiCourse: Food, Manuela’s JournalCuisine: Italian, TriesteDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Brown/Spanish pardina lentils, picked and rinsed

• 1 large chopped carrot

• 1 large chopped onion

• 1 stalk (rib) of celery chopped

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 2 litters of fresh chicken broth

• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

• Add the olive oil into a large dutch oven and set over medium heat.
• Add the onions, celery and carrots to the pan.
• Sweat the vegetables for about 4-5 minutes.
• Add the lentils, broth, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
• Simmer covered for 60 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
• Serve.

Notes

• Enjoy!